Voting machines

[quicksilverdon]

Been seeing reports about how easy electronic voting machines are to hack, how one company is owned by Venezuela...
Anyway, why don't all machines print you a "receipt" - here's how you voted - then you stuff the receipt in a sealed box in the voting area before you leave. If there's a recount needed, the box gets opened and the "receipts" are counted. Why not? My town used to have paper ballots - you marked them with a pencil, then they were scanned, but there was always the paper backup. My town has now gone to touch-screen voting - with NO PAPER BACKUP? What good is a recount? What would a recount be????
Let's face it - BOTH SIDES have instances of voter fraud - the electonic machines can now carry it to a new level - only a paper trail can give the cheats some pause....Only paper could expose that manipulation took place.
WHY NOT a mandatory paper trail?

[bigdogdad]

I agree with you qsd. Even here at my office even though it was originally set up to be "paperless" I didn't like the idea and have put it back to both. I like to have the paper! Quess I'm old fashion.

[satellite66]

I think there should be a paper trail also. As I recall there was a big outcry from the left for electronic machines after Fla 00. We got electronic and now there is a big outcry from the left for paper.
Didn't Jimmy Carter oversee the election of Chavez and give it his seal of approval?

[fritz_t_coyote]

The problem is that the electronic voting machines are too easily hacked.

Of course it seems to be just the techno-geeks who are persisting in pointing this out.

The mainstream media will probably not notice when 'Allubase R. Belongtous' gets elected.

They might catch on when 'Laura Croft' wins in a landslide.

[CREWZIN]

I voted early (yesterday) because I'm leaving tomorrow to attend my grandson's birthday up in Virginia. Florida (at least my county) has early voting so I took advantage of it. They had a paper sheet voting slip that you blacked out the circle that corosponded with your choice. Then slid the paper into a counting machine. No hanging chad or computer anywhere in site.

[quicksilverdon]

quote:Originally posted by CREWZIN

I voted early (yesterday) because I'm leaving tomorrow to attend my grandson's birthday up in Virginia. Florida (at least my county) has early voting so I took advantage of it. They had a paper sheet voting slip that you blacked out the circle that corosponded with your choice. Then slid the paper into a counting machine. No hanging chad or computer anywhere in site.

That's like they way mine WERE. I liked it - the paper was the reality, it was just tabulated electronically, but in the event of a question, the paper ballots were the backup and final authority.
We got sent a brochure at home, explaining the new machines - no paper - and I'm asking, WHY NOT??? Why wouldn't you have paper backup?

[rszappa1]

Funny how we have had ATM machines for years with no real problems and you do get a reciept....It can be done..

[fritz_t_coyote]

quote:Originally posted by rszappa1

Funny how we have had ATM machines for years with no real problems and you do get a reciept....It can be done..

1- ATM means Automatic Teller Machine. I have a pet peeve when people add an extra 'Machine'.
2- The ATM gives a receipt to you, and transmits the transaction to the bank, and logs the transaction internally (not in that order). Of these, your receipt is useless for 'vote counting', it is only useful so you can compare it against YOUR bank statement. The internal logging of the ATM IS useful as it can be used to audit the reported numbers. Presuming the log is accurate.

Audit standards and practices can be developed to insure the integrity of the process, but I would not expect the evil (Something Oedipus Rex did more than once) politicans have NO INTEREST in insuring fair elections. They WANT elections to be easy to steal.

Until we-the-people force the audit trails and the audits, our democracy is (again) at risk.

[strangelove]

quote:Originally posted by fritz_t_coyote

Until we-the-people force the audit trails and the audits, our democracy is (again) at risk.

I'll second that.[^]

[quicksilverdon]

That was my point - glad I'm not the only one to see the danger - now let's all speak up![?]